With 8.8 seconds remaining in regulation in Ole Miss' overtime loss versus Florida on Wednesday, the Rebels converted on two free-throw attempts to build a three-point lead. Davis called a timeout after the free throws to talk things over with his squad. A decision needed to be made: foul or defend?

There's merit to either choice. If you foul, you're limiting Florida to two free-throw attempts, which won't be enough to tie the game, obviously. But with the amount of time left on the clock, there's a danger of fouling too soon and giving the Gators a chance at another possession with a slimmer deficit. If you defend, you're putting the ball in the hands of a Florida team that has attempted more than 500 3-pointers this season, and was 8-for-22 leading up to that moment on Wednesday. Still, shooting 36 percent as a team gives Ole Miss the better odds to win than Florida would have to tie.

Davis opted for the latter decision. He didn't feel comfortable fouling in the backcourt with so much time left on the clock, and didn't want to risk a Florida player heaving a desperation three as he was being fouled to earn a trio of cheap free-throw attempts.

The decision, sound as it may have been, backfired.

"I've played the last play over to foul or not to foul a million times," Davis said Friday. "I haven't slept much in the last two days, really. I'm a proponent of fouling, of fouling up three. It was just the time left with around nine seconds... Obviously if somebody asked me if I'd do it again, yeah, I'd foul now knowing that the guy made a 25-footer. No question. It's just one of those games."

The player who made the shot for Florida, senior guard KeVaughn Allen, was 0-for-6 from 3-point range prior to his game-tying shot. And Ole Miss defended him well. Freshman forward K.J. Buffen rode with Allen to the sideline and had a hand in his face as he was shooting. But the shot just went in.

Davis described the feeling after a moment like that as a sting. He said he doesn't know if he'll ever truly let go of that loss, and thinks it'll rest in the pantheon of games he reflects and second-guesses about as long as he keeps coaching.

The players, on the other hand, have done a good job of letting the loss go. Davis said his team came in and watched the film Thursday then moved on to preparations for Mississippi State on Saturday. There's been no hangover when it comes to physicality or energy in practice.

And that's potentially because of the positive spin Davis has used to soften the loss just a tad.

"You have to play well at Florida to put yourself up three," Davis said. "There were a lot of really good things we did. We need to think about those things. But, like I said, KeVaughn Allen was 0-for-6 [from 3-point distance] and then he made a 25-footer. If you don't foul him, you can't guard him better than what we guarded him. And he made it. That's basketball."